


golden.

by moonkid28



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-16
Updated: 2019-09-16
Packaged: 2020-10-19 14:49:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,192
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20659019
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moonkid28/pseuds/moonkid28
Summary: It's hard, being away from his mothers. Derek is a mama's boy through and through.Chris and Will ease that hurt, though.





	golden.

He can’t sleep. 

He’s itching in his skin, uncomfortable at being in the Haus, for some reason. Usually, being in the Haus was the furthest thing from uncomfortable, but his brain doesn’t care about usually, it seems. It sucks, but he’s here, whether he likes it or not.  
  


At least Chowder and Dex were here, Nursey reasoned. Chowder had decided not to get a ticket home, and Dex couldn’t afford to miss the days off work, so they’d all stayed. It wasn’t as if his moms would be home anyways– Ammi’s shitty father had gotten sick and she and Mama had gone to her childhood home to see him “in case he kicked the bucket”.  
  


_ “Mijo, I don’t want you seeing that. Your ammi is only going because her mother begged her, even though el es un pinche cabron que se puede chinga lo–” _   
  


_ “Mamí, lo entiendo.” _   
  


_ “Lo siento, baby, pero he just… ay. Tu sabes que... how I feel about that man. We’ll see you some other time, okay? We’ll come down for your birthday! Promise.” _   
  


_ “Okay, Mama. Don’t forget to wrap your hair while you’re gone.” _   
  


_ “You and Amal about this goddamn hair wrapping, see if I don’t pop you– oye, don’t suck your teeth at me. I love you, okay? Merry Christmas y Happy New Year.” _   
  


_ “Tu tambien, love you.” _   
  


After tossing and turning for what felt like hours but was likely only minutes, Nursey finally got up out of the pile of blankets they’d collected in Chowder’s room and crept downstairs, shrugging into his jacket. With that, he slipped out of the haus and into the quiet winter night.  
  


\--

  
_ The good thing about living in Mass, _ Nursey thought to himself when he returned to the haus, _ stores don’t just sell American food. _ He was now elbow-deep in Bitty’s biggest bowl, now full of masa harina, corn husks soaking in another bowl. It was nearly three am; he hadn’t bothered to turn on the lights in case it woke Chowder or Dex upstairs and instead had pulled back the curtains, soft moonlight illuminating the kitchen as he worked.

The action itself was soothing-- mixing and pressing, kneading at the dough, pouring the broth into the mix (he’d opted for bean tamales rather than meat, so he didn't have to spend four, five, six hours waiting for it to go tender, and as a result had needed to make his own broth with bouillon). He could be quietly mindless, gentle as he made his meal; silence had never really bothered him when he had a set action and end result.

Derek had just shaken off the corn husks and set them out to air dry and was leaning against the sink, cigarette tucked in between his teeth, when he felt a strong pair of arms wrap around his waist and a body meld itself against his own, warm and gentle.

“Thought you said you were gonna stop smoking,” Chris’ voice rumbled against his back, just between his shoulderblades. 

Derek chuckled softly, pulling the little cylindrical item from his lips. “I am, promise. I just needed the nicotine high tonight. It’s a vape, though, not a real cig.”

Chowder laughed sleepily. He could feel the sensation of it, vibrating deep in the bones of his chest, dancing in his ribcage like the rich sounds he let pour from his earbuds while he wrote.

“Can't believe my boyfriend vapes,” Chris murmured. Derek grinned, shimmying to turn in his arms, and blew strawberry-flavoured smoke over the curve of his jawline, snickering, until Chris laughed at him, pushed his face away. Derek took another hit, the little light glowing against the other boy’s face, and then cupped his jaw to bring him closer. Chris took the hint, eyes slipping closed, brought his lips to his own and Derek kissed him, soft and sweet and smoky.

They kissed until the smoke was gone, and then a little bit longer, Derek’s fingers deftly tracing the soft angles of his boyfriend’s face.

“Come back to bed,” Chowder whispered against his lips. “You don't have to sleep, Der, we can share headphones or something.”

“In a little bit,” he said softly. “Swear. Just gotta finish up something I was doing.”

“You promise? You need your rest, you never take care of yourself,” he needled, tucking his head into his shoulder. Lightly, he brushed his nose against Derek’s neck, a simple back and forth motion he did to him sometimes-- something that was just theirs.

Derek was so gone on him. Chris asked him for anything and he was on his knees for him at a moment’s notice. Chris _ and _Will, but with Will he liked to fight and wheedle and tease, then give in, be sweet, be soft. Their love had grown into something beautiful, wonderful, from a friendship that had become strong. Chris he had always loved, in a way, and it had only become stronger when they had started dating.

“Of course. Gimme an hour?” Derek asked. Chowder's head tilted up, brow furrowed, and he pressed in to kiss him softly to soothe his worries, nipping playfully at his bottom lip when he pulled away.

Chris’ eyes were still closed when he pulled back, skin flushed like it was after a couple Natty Lites; his tongue darted out as if to taste Derek on his lips. “You can't just kiss all my problems away, Nursey,” he warned, but he seemed content nonetheless.

“I know. Go back to bed and i'll see you in a second.”

He nodded, leaned in to steal another quick kiss-- couldn't kiss his problems away his ass, Derek thought to himself, laughing internally-- then untangled himself from his body and slipped away, socked feet padding quietly upstairs. Derek chuckled softly when he heard Chris swear at the sound of the trick step creak with what seemed like the volume of a gunshot in the quiet, then tucked the little cigarette away and stood properly to finish his tamales.

He finished right before the hour was up, thankfully, just like he'd promised to Chris. There was a bit of mess still, masa harina on the floor and table, beans wiped on his cheeks once or twice on accident, but it wasn't much of a cleanup. Nursey rinsed out the bowls he'd used, suddenly tired, too tired to go through the process of washing, and wiped up the floor and table, then sat on the counter, yawning.

“Well it worked, I guess,” he mumbled out loud, rubbing at his eyes. “Fucking exhausted.” He yawned again before idly reaching for the clingwrap and sliding off the counter. His hands moved as though on autopilot, wrapping the metal tins he'd set each tamal in with the thin plastic sheets as he tried to blink himself back awake. It only sort of worked-- he hit himself in the face with the freezer door and nearly dropped the tins-- but he managed to escape mostly unscathed and crept quietly back upstairs.

Dex was awake when Derek eased back into Chowder’s room, sleepily rubbing at his eyes and sitting up on the bed. “Where’d you go?” he asked, frowning.

Derek closed the door silently and shrugged out of his jacket, dumping it on the chair at Chowder’s desk. “Couldn't sleep. Went to clear my head.”

The frown grew deeper. “You're okay?” he whispered. 

Derek smiled weakly. “Fine, baby. I'm coming to bed and everything.” He shucked off his shirt and pants, leaving him in boxers-- they might have been Will’s, but they shared clothes so much he didn't really know anymore-- and came over to settle at the end of the bed.

“Get in the middle, you look tired.”

“I said i’m fine, seriously.”

“Just let me spoon you, you fucking asshole,” he grumbled, gesturing for him, and Derek snorted softly, obliging his boyfriend’s admittedly small request and wriggling between him and Chris. Will’s hand swept up and down his bare arm softly, soothing, before dragging the blanket up. He slipped his arm back below the blanket and tucked it easily around Derek’s waist, pulling him in close.

“Nursey?” a voice said quietly.

“Yeah, it’s me,” he murmured. Chris made a pleased noise; he rolled closer, pressing his face into his chest, inhaling deeply.

Derek grinned sleepily; he could feel Dex chuckling quietly, the sound rumbling in his chest, and, consequently, against Derek’s spine. He sunk into it, exhaustion finally giving him its swan song.

“Night, you guys,” he said softly. 

“Night,” they chimed, and his heart was warm.

_X_

When he wakes, he is alone. The smell of coffee, however, was thick and warm, and when Derek stretches, he feels that the bed isn’t cold-- they couldn’t have been gone for long.

True to form, Chris pops his head into the room, his favorite mug in hand, steam rising from it.

“Oh, cool, you’re up,” he says, pleased, and comes over to settle on the bed, pressing a kiss to his cheek before passing over the mug.

“Yeah,” Derek says, hoarse. He sits up and takes a mouthful of coffee to clear his throat, and Chris rolls his eyes, grinning.

“What?”

“I knew you were gonna do that, so I waited until it cooled down to bring you your cup,” he explained, and Nursey groaned immediately, setting the mug down and flopping into the bed.

“You can’t just say stuff like that, C, I’m gonna fall in love with you,” he complains, and Chris cackles, digging fingers into his sides and tickling him mercilessly. 

“You fucking nerd, you’re already in love with me!”

“_ Ahhaha- stop! _ I _ kno-hohoooow _CHRIS--”

“I said wake our boyfriend up, not terrorize him,” A voice says, warm and amused, and Chris laughs, rolling off of Nursey with a kiss. Nursey’s pouting, but it’s hiding a smile very, very poorly.

“I’m hungry,” Chris announces.

“Hi Hungry, i’m Dad,” Dex and Nursey say in unison, and then laugh immediately, Chris sticking his tongue out at them in retaliation.

“Yeah, yeah, laugh it up, but if I called one of you daddy I bet you’d freak,” Chris said; instantly, Dex makes a retching noise, and Nursey scrunches up his face in distaste. Chris cackles.

“Exactly. C’mon, let’s go see what we can make for breakfast. We’re snowed in,” Chris explains, and Nursey clears his throat.

“Uh, I made food,” he says, forcibly casual. “We don’t, like, have to eat it, but I made a lot, or like. Like I made enough for all of us, and if we’re snowed in--”

“What is it?” Chris asks, sounding interested, and he swallows again.

“Tamales.”

“I’ve never had them,” Dex says, frowning thoughtfully, but Chowder looks _ delighted. _

“Oh, hell yeah,” he says. “Was that was you were doing last night? I haven’t had any in years!”

Derek smiles, heart easing at the sound of his boyfriend’s excitement. “Yeah, yeah it was. Making them makes me feel better, I guess.”

“Are you alright?” Dex asks, coming to kneel at Derek’s feet, but he shakes his head, smiling again at his partner.

“I’m fine, babe,” he says. “Promise. I just was… I dunno. I miss my moms?”

Dex hesitates, but gently, he says, “I know it’s not the same, but maybe we can facetime them together later? Or while we’re eating? It might make you feel better.”

_ Oh, boy, _Derek thinks as his throat gets tight; he nods, wordless, smiling tightly to keep himself from tearing up. He hates this. The moon must be in Pisces.

“Let’s go eat, then!” Chris says, excited but gentle, offering a hand to tug Nursey up, and Dex does the same, pulling him up with their boyfriend.

“Yeah,” he says, heart full. “Yeah, let’s go.”

_ I love them, _Nursey thinks as Chris and Will try to fit the three of them, all broad shoulders and hockey butts, down the narrow haus stairs at once.

_ I love them _, he thinks, as Dex confidently calls his tamales “the best i’ve ever had,” and Chowder rolls his eyes, poking him with a fork. When Derek asks, Chris says, “they’re alright,” and can’t even keep a straight face before breaking and coming over to kiss him, squeezing his shoulders and saying “they’re pretty great, Dee.”

“I love you guys,” Derek says aloud when they’re on the phone with his moms, one of his baby cousins on his ammi’s lap, his partners squeezed onto the demon couch on either side.

“Aww, papi, we love you too,” his mami coos, and Amal beams at him, bouncing little Amira in her lap.

“Haha, gay,” Dex says at the same time, elbowing him fondly, and Chris tosses his arms around him, squeezing.

“We love you too, habibi,” Amal says. “Don’t we, Mira? Hmm, don’t you love your cousin?”

Amira blows a snot bubble and farts at the same time, gurgling, setting everyone into a round of laughter. All things considered, he’s pretty impressed. She’s only a few months old.

“We’ll take that as a yes,” Alda says confidently, and he laughs with the rest of them, every trace of discomfort and sadness chased from inside of him, if only for a little, golden moment.

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> me: yeah I'm a serious writer. this is a serious fic.  
also me: lol what if u called this 'stay gold nurseyboy'
> 
> ...anyways. I got this prompt so long ago, and I finally finished it. I hope y'all enjoyed! 
> 
> And as always, feel free to follow me on [tumblr](https://hoenursey.tumblr.com)!


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